"...and I don't even know why I even called you sensei! You barely taught me anything! It was always Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke! You were always giving him private lessons and, and..." Naruto howled, finally venting his frustrations at his former teacher that he'd kept bottled up for years. He'd just gotten back from his training trip with Jiraiya, and had finally gotten the opportunity to let Kakashi have it.

"Naruto." Kakashi sighed. "I keep forgetting how much you're like your mother was, you look so much like your father that I kept thinking that there was more of him in there. Your mother had a bit of trouble looking beneath the surface as well."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto growled.

"What happens with your team after you become a Chunin?" Kakashi asked.

"You can either stay with your team, or you can go on missions by yourself or with other teams." Naruto replied.

"Answer me honestly Naruto, if Sasuke passed the Chunin Exams back then, what option would he have taken?" Kakashi asked.

"He woulda ditched us in a heartbeat." Naruto replied sadly. He liked Sasuke, and considered him his best friend and almost a brother, but he knew his answer was true.

"So...?" Kakashi asked, waiting for Naruto to give him the answer he'd been leading up to.

"So, what?" Naruto asked, apparently still not getting it.

"I know you cared about him, but...The faster that little shit made Chunin, the faster I could have gotten rid of him and started focusing on you." Kakashi replied.